Disclaimer: I own nothing
Nathan Scott awoke with a start, as old school hip hop blared through the speakers of his alarm clock. He groaned in frustration and glanced at the clock, bleary eyed. The bright red numbers read 4:30. He rolled out of bed and slipped on his sneakers, to begin his morning jog.
Nathan Scott was a famous NBA player known for being just that, a player. He was a womanizer to the fullest extent, using his status to attain women that were never before possible. To most he seemed arrogant, obnoxious, cocky, and extremely good-looking, but what most didn't know was the story behind the scenes. Before he became starting point guard for the LA Lakers and the famous Nathan Scott, Nathan was a normal guy with talent on the basketball court. Everyone who knew him well knew the two word reason for why he changed: Haley James.
Across the Country
Haley awoke with a start when her alarm clock went off at 6:30. She rolled out of bed and into the shower to begin her day. Haley slipped on the outfit that she had picked out the night before and tiptoed out of the house as so not to awake her two roommates, Peyton and Brooke.
Haley lived in Tree Hill, North Carolina for her whole life, and after college she began to work at the local elementary school, doing what she did best: teaching. In high school Haley had been the go to girl to pass a test and was well known and well liked. She had natural beauty, but often she did not put as much time into her appearance as other girls. She had boyfriends, but they were mostly meaningless flings until Nathan.
It started in high school when Haley was assigned to tutor Nathan and their attraction was obvious to the start. They became inseparable. Haley did not believe in high school love until Nathan. They knew they were meant to spend the rest of their lives together. Their lives were perfect, until Chris Kellar came into town. Haley and Chris struck up a close friendship, which made Nathan incredibly jealous. He was always worried of Haley straying from him, which she swore she could never do. Then it happened.
Nathan came home from his part-time job early hoping to surprise Haley and he found her under Chris on the couch. He hurried out of the apartment as fast as he could, not aware of the true story and that was the last time he ever saw Haley. Haley never knew that Nathan had seen them and so she never knew why he left, but it tore her apart. Chris had been forcing himself onto Haley, and what Nathan took for cries of passion were in reality cries of pain. Haley still had nightmares about that fateful afternoon and often needed the help of her best friends Brooke and Peyton.
L.A.
After he was showered and back from his job, Nathan called up his agent and brother, Lucas Scott. "Yo Luke, what have you got for me today."
"The Bachelor run through is today. They will give you all the details on how to be the bachelor and stuff like that."
"You suck, I can't believe you signed me up for that shit." Nathan groaned. His brother, Luke was his best friend, but sometimes he took the managing job too far. Lucas thought that it would help Nathan's career if he showed some interest in settling down. The bad ass image could only take him so far.
"It won't be that bad. Besides you get to spend three months surrounded by beautiful women."
"As if that's any different from my normal life," Nathan scoffed. And Lucas rolled his eyes at that comment.
"Whatever man, just don't be late." Nathan and Lucas hung up. Nathan sat back in his chair and turned on the tv. Sometimes he did get lonely and wish he had someone to settle down with, but everytime he found a woman they were compared to his Haley. He shook his head. She wasn't his. She belonged to whoever wanted her. He knew that he could never forgive her for the betrayal and the pain that she caused him.
Tree Hill
Haley returned from work to be immediately greeted by Brooke and Peyton. "Tutor girl," Brooke began, "you're never going to believe what we got in the mail today…"
"Well, it's a funny story actually" Peyton cut in. Haley grimaced. Nothing good could come from those words. "A couple of months ago, Brooke and I filled out an application for you to be on the Bachelor. We thought that it would be good for you to try to settle down."
"YOU DID WHAT!" Haley shrieked. "Neither of you has settled down or even has a job for that matter."
"That's different" Brooke retorted, "Peyton and I are loving life and are not all hung up on some boy from high school. And besides, you were accepted. You're flying out to LA next Friday and shooting begins on Monday.
"You're going to thank us for this one day." Peyton replied. She gave Haley a quick hug. "Now, let's go pack." And Brooke and Peyton dragged Haley into her bedroom. Little did they know who this little adventure would bring back into their lives.